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(Adds details, background and quotes) RABAT, Oct 10 (Reuters) – King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Friday called for accelerating reforms to create jobs for young people, improve public services, and reduce regional inequalities by giving greater attention to the mountain and oasis regions. The King made the call in a speech at the opening of the country's parliament, a week after widespread youth-led protests demanding better health, education and an end to corruption. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy where the King sets the major policy direction implemented by an elected government. The King did not address youth protesters directly but said that there should be no inconsistencies or competition between the country's national flagship projects and social programs. He urged "a faster implementation pace and stronger impacts from the next-generation of local development programs," which he had asked the government to prepare in July. Priority areas include job creation for young people and "tangible progress in the education and health sectors, as well as local rehabilitation policies," he said. Morocco's unemployment rate stands at 12.8%, with youth unemployment reaching 35.8% and 19% among graduates, official data showed. Special attention should be given to the "most fragile areas" such as mountains , he said. While the level of poverty has dropped in Morocco from 11.9% in 2014 to 6.8% in 2024, mountainous and oases areas show above-average poverty levels, according to the national statistics agency. Most of the country's population, financial and industrial hubs and vital infrastructure are concentrated in the northwest, leaving the rest of the country reliant on farming, fisheries and tourism. Thousands lined the avenue leading to parliament to greet King Mohammed VI who wore traditional attire and was accompanied by his brother and his son, the crown prince. The same square in front of the Parliament saw only dozens protesting on Thursday night in response to a call by the country's Generation Z protest version, a leaderless group known as GenZ 212. The group said on its Discord server it would suspend its protests on Friday out of respect for the King. (Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Diane Craft)

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CONAKRY, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Guinea has charged 60 people with arson, theft and murder after a deadly riot at the privately-owned Weily Mining firm in the northeastern gold-producing Siguiri region, prosecutors said on Friday. Unrest broke out on October 4 after locals demanded the release of 17 people detained over an earlier vandalism incident at the same site, Siguiri’s public prosecutor Ibrahima I. Camara said in a statement. Protesters stormed the mine, torching 10 buses, two pickup trucks – including one belonging to the gendarmerie – and two buildings. Two people were killed and several others injured, it added. The charges include voluntary arson, destruction of property, and complicity in murder. Weily Mining, which said it exported its first gold from the Niagassola mine in September 2024 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The violence highlights growing tensions in Siguiri, home to AngloGold Ashanti's multiple open pit gold mines and plagued by illegal artisanal mining. Guinea, which holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves and vast iron ore deposits at Simandou, has seen rising unrest at mining sites amid a regulatory crackdown. The military junta, in power since 2021, has sought to boost economic growth by renegotiating mining contracts, accelerating project development, and increasing state earnings from Guinea’s vast natural resource wealth. Authorities said investigations into the riot will be conducted jointly by the police and gendarmerie. (Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Louise Heavens)

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Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown took to social media on Friday to clarify his postgame comments about failing to recall if he met with quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley to address the team's issues on offense. The "meeting" reportedly occurred on Monday, one day after the Eagles' 21-17 loss to the Denver Broncos. Both Barkley and Hurts confirmed the meeting took place, with Barkley saying it was a "good thing" and stressed that it was not a traditional players-only meeting in which "all hell's breaking loose." Brown, however, had a different answer when approached by reporters after the Eagles dropped a 34-17 decision to the New York Giants on Thursday. "I don't recall a meeting. I don't know what you're talking about it," Brown told reporters with a smile. "You need to talk to them. I don't recall. I don't recall." Brown tried a different approach on Friday. "Just to clear this up. That wasn't a meeting or a sit-down," Brown wrote in a post to X. " I said 'I don't recall' because it got painted like there was tension and (Saquon) had to step in. That's not true. I was walking to my car, saw them, and stopped to talk. Nothing more." Brown, 28, has 25 catches for 274 yards and one touchdown in six games this season for Philadelphia (4-2). Brown has compiled at least 1,079 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons with the Eagles and helped them win Super Bowl LIX, with 12 catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns over four playoff games last winter. –Field Level Media

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Oct 10 (OPTA) – Results and fixtures for the Africa World Cup Qualifiers on Friday (start times are GMT) Group Stage ————————————————————— Seychelles (0) 0 Côte d'Ivoire (4) 7 Gambia (2) 3 Gabon (2) 4 South Sudan (0) 0 Senegal (1) 5 Togo (0) 0 Congo DR (1) 1 Sudan (0) 0 Mauritania (0) 0 São Tomé e Príncipe (0) 0 Tunisia (3) 6 Lesotho (0) 1 Nigeria (0) 2 Zimbabwe (0) 0 South Africa (0) 0 Rwanda v Benin in play Sunday, October 12 fixtures (GMT) Zambia v Niger (1300) Chad v Central African Republic (1600) Ghana v Comoros (1900) Mali v Madagascar (1900) Burkina Faso v Ethiopia (1900) Djibouti v Sierra Leone (1900) Egypt v Guinea-Bissau (1900) Monday, October 13 fixtures (GMT) Eritrea v Tanzania -cancelled Equatorial Guinea v Liberia (1300) São Tomé e Príncipe v Malawi (1300) Tunisia v Namibia (1300) South Sudan v Togo (1300) Cabo Verde v Eswatini (1600) Mauritius v Libya (1600) Cameroon v Angola (1600) Lesotho v Zimbabwe (1600) Tuesday, October 14 fixtures (GMT) Seychelles v Gambia (1300) Guinea v Botswana (1600) Somalia v Mozambique (1600) Algeria v Uganda (1600) South Africa v Rwanda (1600) Nigeria v Benin (1600) Gabon v Burundi (1900) Côte d'Ivoire v Kenya (1900) Morocco v Congo (1900) Congo DR v Sudan (1900) Senegal v Mauritania (1900)

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